Couple sleep easy after bed refund

When the £1,800 you feared you might lose is being refunded to your bank account a good night’s sleep is guaranteed.

Keith and Georgina will sleep easy now they finally have the right beds [GETTY [PIC POSED BY MODEL]]

That’s the happy time in store for a couple this Christmas now that their dispute over a new bed has been resolved.

With a little help from Crusader and a dollop of goodwill from a retailer the unwanted item has been returned and all the money is now heading back to the customer.

The past month however has been a lot more fraught for Keith and Georgina Orton since the arrival of the double adjustable bed they ordered in the autumn from AHF Furniture & Carpets in Peterborough.

The retired couple had picked out the style they wanted based on a single bed they saw in the store, then paid by debit card.

But what was delivered, two mattresses with two bases, did not please them one bit, as Keith explained.

“We understood we were ordering a complete 5ft double bed with an adjustable element that my wife could use to help her sleep.

“She was seriously ill a few years ago and still under hospital care. We did not expect to get two separate 2ft 6ins single ones that were down to us to fit together and no instructions we could see either.”

The Ortons left the items in their original packing and felt they had been on the wrong end of a mix-up. Other furniture and a carpet that they had ordered at the same time were all perfect.

So they complained about the bed and asked for the parts to be taken back.

Check the features of furniture before deciding to buy [ALAMY]

We understood we were ordering a complete 5ft double bed with an adjustable element that my wife could use to help her sleep

Keith Orton

According to the couple there was no indication on the receipt, nor had they been told, that the goods had been made to order, a situation that would have ruled out any right to an exchange or a refund.

AHF, an employee-owned cooperative store chain in eastern England, was reluctant to budge and maintained it had supplied what the couple had chosen.

However Crusader’s intervention prompted the company to inspect the items.

“We have been trying to help this customer for some time,” said AHF commercial director Matt Hesketh.

“The product is not faulty and is exactly what they ordered. In circumstances like this we would charge a cancellation fee.

“However in this instance we would rather give a full refund and bring this to a close.”

Keith responded: “We are very relieved, thank you. We still want a new bed but we’re not going to rush into anything after this experience."